


Runaway

by ACommonAnomaly (RowanBaines)



Category: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Brothers goofing off, Childhood Games Revisited, Childhood Reminiscing, Siblings, With A Twist, Years of the Trees, and trying to be sneaky, and....ANGST, during a game of tag, happier times, the Blessed Realm, whoopsie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-04
Updated: 2018-04-04
Packaged: 2019-04-18 03:00:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14203584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RowanBaines/pseuds/ACommonAnomaly
Summary: “We are all here,” Tyelkormo had said, his eyes shining with mischief. “Let us have a little game, as when we were children.”Maitimo’s brothers had agreed to join the game, one by one, some of them with notably less enthusiasm than Tyelkormo. But even so, they had dispersed into the garden maze once Maitimo’s back was turned and his eyes closed, light on their feet and brimming with energy.





	Runaway

“We are all here,” Tyelkormo had said, his eyes shining with mischief. “Let us have a little game, as when we were children.”

Maitimo’s brothers had agreed to join the game, one by one, some of them with notably less enthusiasm than Tyelkormo. But even so, they had dispersed into the garden maze once Maitimo’s back was turned and his eyes closed, light on their feet and brimming with energy.

Their father had designed the garden with his young sons in mind. Tall hedges hemmed in stone paths that opened on swathes of lush green grass, where fountains babbled and chiseled benches nestled between carefully tended rose bushes.  Hidden niches could be reached by passing through curtains of hanging vines and flowers, and the few wide open areas were dotted with fantastical topiaries between which energetic children could dash with abandon.

Maitimo pushed off from the tree he had been leaning on and entered through the blossom-covered archway that led into the maze of hedges.

There was a method to the chase that Maitimo had long since mastered, an order in which he sought out his brothers, or tempted them into seeking  _ him _ out.

The twins would find some quiet place and hide; he would come upon them eventually. Makalaurë was careful and quick, not easy to find or to capture. Carnistir had groused at being forced to participate in their silly game, but Maitimo knew his pride would lead him to make at least some effort to keep himself well away from his older brother.

Maitimo jogged down a walkway, slowing only once he was beneath the swaying branches of a flowering tree. There were only two trees in this part of the garden, and he would make it a point to pass beneath both of them as many times as it took.

He cut through a break in the hedges and stalked beneath the second tree, letting his gaze drift all around him but never up. 

He slowed, creeping along as if he had spotted something. Speckled light danced across his vision, and it would have distracted him if he had truly been seeking with his eyes. He paused, waiting, knowing that it would be any moment now. He bit his lip in anticipation as he crouched, peering beneath a bush ahead of him, and he let his certainty flow through and out of him, filling the air.

He felt it on his right shoulder, a touch so soft that it was barely a touch at all, though it stirred his hair. He ignored the instinct to turn toward it, whirling instead to his left, his hand shooting out.

Tyelkormo cried out in dismay as Maitimo yanked him into his arms. With Tyelkormo’s back pressed to his front, Maitimo rocked back and forth, laughing until his joy chased away his brother’s indignation at having been caught. When Tyelkormo pulled away he was still scowling, but the light in his eyes betrayed him.

“You couldn’t resist, could you?” Maitimo teased.

“Next time I’ll be quicker. Just wait,” Tyelkormo said with a cocky grin. He turned to leave with his head held high as though he had won the game instead of being the first one sent out of the garden.

Maitimo returned his attention to the paths around him. Now he listened, keeping his own footsteps silent. He hadn’t missed the dart of Tyelkormo’s eyes before he turned away, and that was the direction he went in now.

Curufinwë had not gone far from Tyelkormo, as he had suspected. He had seen Tyelkormo’s capture, and his frustration made him reckless. Once he realized Maitimo had spotted him, he did not even try to hide himself in the foliage but threw caution to the wind and ran full-out down the winding flagstone path. 

Maitimo gave chase and swiftly overtook him, throwing his arms around his brother and dragging them both into the grass beside the path. Curufinwë struggled to get away even though he had already lost, elbowing his older brother and then rolling away. As Curufinwë stood he cursed under his breath so vividly that if Amil had been there she would have thoroughly scolded him, though he was grown and a parent now himself.

Only a moment later he composed himself and said, “Well, good. I can think of better ways to spend my afternoon than hiding in the bushes and getting grass stains on my clothes.”

Maitimo laughed. “Go find Tyelkormo. He must be lonely, being the first one caught.”

After giving Maitimo an impish look, Curufinwë turned and made a dignified retreat.

When Maitimo was certain he was gone, he stood very still, closed his eyes, and listened. 

Carnistir was stubborn, and in his determination to avoid Maitimo he would keep moving rather than find one spot and hide himself. The commotion Curufinwë had made when he was caught would have spurred Carnistir on, Maitimo was certain. And sure enough, after only a few moments of listening, his ears picked up the sound of running feet.

It seemed Carnistir was heading toward the center fountain, so Maitimo left the walkway, carefully creeping between rose bushes to cut a more direct path there.

Carnistir did not sprint down the path when he realized Maitimo had spotted him, but instead darted around and under bushes, vanishing for moments at a time before Maitimo caught sight of him again. As Maitimo drew close, Carnistir sprang onto a stone bench and then leapt over a tall hedge. Maitimo feared he might lose him in the maze, but as his feet pushed off from the bench and he hurdled over after him, he saw which way his brother had gone and swiftly ran him down.

He caught Carnistir’s arm just as they exited the maze, and he was almost pulled over by his brother’s momentum. Carnistir stopped and gazed at Maitimo with bright eyes, his cheeks flushed. He did not struggle as Curufinwë had, and in fact he looked relieved that the game was over for him.

He clasped Maitimo’s shoulder and said, “Good luck, Nelyo,” before strolling away.

Maitimo watched him go, though his attention was already turning to the twins. He’d scanned all the twin’s favorite hiding spots as he looked for the others and now was certain he knew where they were. He hurried there now, his eyes searching the row of overgrown shrubbery as he approached. He veered toward a section that had been overtaken by vines, knowing the thick cover would appeal to the twins.

He slowly parted branches, peering through the curtain of vines and leaves. He blinked, thinking for a moment that he perceived something out of place, but he felt as though he could not quite focus his vision. He saw branches that were somehow not branches, and leaves that were somehow not leaves, and his mind grew hazier the longer he stared into shadowy brush.

He only just stopped himself from narrowing his eyes as he pulled back and pretended to listen intently.

“Ah ha! I’ve got you!” Maitimo yelled, though he had heard nothing. He vigorously shook the branches and was rewarded by two voices crying out in alarm.

Maitimo dove into the shrubbery and stumbled out the other side, his gaze falling on the fleeing twins. In a burst of speed Maitimo was upon them.

The twins ran with their hands clasped, and once one was caught, so was the other; they would not release their hold on each other.

Pityafinwë groaned and sank to the ground when Maitimo’s hand closed around his wrist, and Telufinwë fell laughing beside him.

“Finally!” Telufinwë exclaimed, grinning up at his older brother. “I was growing so tired of keeping still. Now we can go back home and eat whatever it was Amil was baking when we left.”

“Are we the last?” Pityafinwë asked, glancing around the garden.

“No. I’ve yet to catch Makalaurë.”

He heaved a sigh. “Of course.”

Maitimo helped the twins up, clapping them each on the back. “Go home and eat, and I’m sure I will be joining you shortly.”

The twins left, arm in arm, and Maitimo once again turned to survey his surroundings. He closed his eyes.

Maitimo dearly loved all his brothers, but he had always had an especially strong bond with Makalaurë. He could often sense when his brother was distressed, and Makalaurë’s lighter emotions came to him sometimes like bursts of shimmering treelight breaking through darkness.

Though he knew his brother would likely claim it was cheating, Maitimo reached out to Makalaurë, trying to feel him. It was time for their game to end, and Maitimo was weary of searching.

_ Makalaurë. _

Maitimo startled, his eyes opening after a fleeting thought of the pond came to him. He ran as quickly as he could, knowing his brother would be aware now that he was drawing near.

He saw Makalaurë ahead, running along the water’s edge, and knew that he had him. Makalaurë was lithe and fast, but if Maitimo could keep him in sight he would soon be able to close the distance between them.

He nearly lost him when Makalaurë turned suddenly, darting down a different path. Maitimo let out a frustrated noise when Makalaurë turned again, leaping over a flower bed and weaving between large topiaries.

“Káno!” Maitimo cried in exasperation.

Makalaurë’s exhilarated laughter drifted over him, and he watched in amazement as small blue flowers burst into bloom under his brother’s feet, marking his path for several steps.

Just as Maitimo drew close enough to grab him, Makalaurë spun away and ran in a different direction, his silky hair gleaming as it slid through Maitimo’s fingers. Maitimo lunged after him, catching Makalaurë’s sleeve just as his brother changed direction again. Unbalanced and unwilling to release his grip, Maitimo felt himself start to fall. He let go the Makalaurë’s sleeve too late, and heard the ripping of fabric as he landed hard on his side.

He took a moment to catch his breath and then pounded a fist against the grassy ground in his irritation.

“You are  _ so _ stubborn,” he grumbled as he pulled himself to his feet.

Maitimo looked around, and then he went very still when he realized that Makalaurë was gone. He could not have vanished from sight so quickly in this part of the garden, and Maitimo could hear and feel nothing to indicate that his brother was still here.

His heart beat more quickly when he realized that the garden around him seemed to have gone still, like a memory frozen in time. He heard no birds or wind chimes, and even the babbling of the fountains seemed to have stopped.

“Makalaurë,” Maitimo called, fear fluttering in his chest. He turned, then turned again, his panic rising as his eyes searched out some sign that he was not alone. “Makalaurë, come back now! The game is done!”

His heart seized in his chest as the color seemed to drain from the world, leaving it dark and dull. For a moment he thought he stood in vast grey halls, with cool marble beneath his feet instead of grass, but then the world shifted back into place as a familiar voice sounded behind him.

“Nelyo.”

“Atar,” Maitimo gasped, turning to face his father.

“I am here. I am always here.” Atar smiled at him, although his eyes were heavy with sadness.

But Maitimo knew that could not be. He took a deep breath to calm himself before saying, “Makalaurë is gone. I can’t find him.”

Atar nodded, but he was slow in answering.

“He fled beyond the garden, I fear. But he will come back to us, Nelyo.”

Maitimo frowned, wondering that his father did not seem to find the situation odd. And why did he watch Maitimo that way, as if searching for something, or as if he expected Maitimo to disappear at any moment?

“What is it, Atar? Is something wrong? Is Amil alright?”

“She is doing well, I suspect. She will be keeping herself busy while she waits for us, if I know her at all.” It seemed that he wanted to say more, but he was inexplicably hesitant, as though handling something delicate. He finally asked, “Is there anything you wish to speak to me about?”

Maitimo started to shake his head, but something dark pushed up from the edges of his mind. Thoughts, memories that could not be his own because he had never known such sorrow, all pressed into the present moment. He glimpsed fire and pain and loss, and his mind reeled.

It could not be. His breath caught, and his heart pounded. He felt as though an old wound was opening up inside him, but it was a wound he did not remember receiving.

“No!” Maitimo cried, pressing his palms against his closed eyes until spots danced in the darkness.

He felt a gentle breeze stir his hair, and somewhere a bird sang, and fountains babbled.

“No,” he said again after a long silence. “No, I do not wish to…”

He felt atar pull him into his arms and went to him willingly.

Atar’s voice was warm and steady in his ear. “Be calm, my love. Whenever you are ready, I will be here.”

Maitimo wondered at his strange words, but eager to feel at peace again, he let them pass without remark. He pulled away, grinning at his father despite his lingering unease. 

“Let’s go back home. My brothers may all be grown, but we still probably shouldn’t leave them unsupervised for too long.”

Atar laughed, a peculiar tightness to his smile. He took Maitimo’s hand as they began to walk, and the last traces of the shadows that had flooded Maitimo’s mind dispersed in the glow of his happiness.

It really was a beautiful day, and Maitimo found himself wishing it could go on forever.  

  


**Author's Note:**

> The title is in reference to the song [Runaway](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_HlPboLRL8), by Aurora.


End file.
